Blog Post 1.1 "David Koch"

1.  How did the Koch brothers describe their political goals and how did they participate politically?
The Koch brothers aimed to roll back environmental and business regulations and vote Democrats out of office. They said they supported liberty and economic freedom. They were against policies aimed at reining in carbon emissions and combating climate change. They also helped many Republican candidates.

2. How did the Koch family become wealthy?
The Koch family became wealthy when Fred C. Koch founded an oil refinery company. Charles Koch continued his legacy, and he transformed the company into Koch Industries, making him and David some of the richest people in the world.

3. How did David Koch first become involved in politics?
David Koch was on the nominee for vice president for the Libertarian Party. Charles and David were both interested in libertarian ideas on economics.

4. Why did the Koch's escalate their political efforts when Obama became president?
Obama was trying to pass both a major expansion of government health care spending and bills designed to decrease carbon emissions and combat climate change. The Koches believed this platform was "the greatest assault on American freedom and prosperity in our lifetimes."

5. What did the Koch's spend their money on in order to help Republican candidates in elections?
They used a complex web of dark money groups that spent money on organizing and ads. They also got many other wealthy Republicans to donate money, and the effort was successful.